Absence Makes The Heart Grow Fonder
by CdnJAGScribe
Summary: Animal makes preparations on his second deployment as squadron commander of the famed VF-41 Black Aces (but other things conspire to make his tour more memorable). Meg realizes just how much she misses him. Harm and Mac get closer. Lieutenant Phil "Metalman" Burrows is his usual annoying self. Read this story after "Gone Flying" to make sense out of the timeline.


"Absence Makes The Heart Grow Fonder"

Author: Haruo Chikamori

E-mail: hhchikamori

Rating: M

Classification: Harm/Mac, Meg/Animal

Spoilers: Sequel to _**Gone Flying**_

Summary: Animal makes preparations on his second deployment as squadron commander of the famed VF-41 Black Aces (but other things conspire to make his tour more memorable). Meg realizes just how much she misses him. Harm and Mac get closer. Lieutenant Phil "Metalman" Burrows is his usual annoying self. Pre-deployment stuff. Read this story after "_**Gone Flying**_" to make sense out of the timeline.

DISCLAIMER: The characters Harm Rabb, Jr., Sarah "Mac" Mackenzie, Meg Austin, AJ Chegwidden, Bud Roberts, Harriet Sims-Roberts et al. belong (in concept if not name) to CBS/Bellisarius. Animal and all OC characters are the property of Heather and Hugo Chikamori. No profit is being made from this story, nor is any infringement intended.

Author's Note: It is hard to write about a deployment when one hasn't had the experience of being on one. As most JAG fanfic authors are civilians – it's kind of hard to do so when the experience level isn't there. For those who do research when they write their fanfics – if one has interest in what happens during a carrier deployment, read a book called SUPERCARRIER by George C. Wilson, a Washington Post defense correspondent about his time on board the USS John F. Kennedy for a full tour of duty in 1983 during the Lebanon crisis. I'm sure it's still available at any decent library. ISBN 0-425-10926-7 (paperback) publ. Berkley Press (Non-Fiction) c. Mar 1988. Intensive research is the backbone of any story.

_**Naval Station Norfolk, **_

_**Norfolk, VA**_

_**0830 hrs**_

Blue sky, a clear calm day in Norfolk, the summer temperature was balmy and there wasn't a breeze in the air. An Asian-American officer in khakis, a set of commander's oak leaves on his collars stood at the fantail, his gold naval aviators wings emblazoned over his left breast pocket. Shipboard khakis didn't require the use of ribbons, so all people knew was that he was an aviator. The USS Theodore Roosevelt was in port, part of the turnaround so that they could go back out into the Med in a few weeks. Most of his squadron was at Oceana, but as the squadron commander of VF-41 Black Aces, he was at the ship that his squadron was assigned to in order to check out the condition of the deck and the spaces which his squadron was going to be occupying for the duration of the cruise.

"So…sir." The eager-beaver, green as grass surface warfare insignia'd lieutenant accompanying him asked. "Does everything check out as required, sir?"

"I think it does. Lieutenant." Commander Toshio "Animal" Nakamura replied. "Gonna be nice smelling the sea-air."

"That it will be, sir." The lieutenant didn't look so enthused.

"Have someone in port?" Animal asked. "You don't look too thrilled to be going back out."

"Yes, sir. A girlfriend, or at least I think she's one." The lieutenant said. "But I'm not sure. I was just getting to know her and then I get assigned to the TR and we're going out on deployment again. If I might ask, sir. How many deployments have you had."

"Six sea tours, Lieutenant and this is my first command tour, second deployment as squadron commander. I was lucky enough to get my first posting as they finished workups and deployed. Most squadron commanders only get one sea deployment." Animal replied. "They don't get any easier. Because frankly, even though I'm two grade-ranks above you, I'm in the same boat." He looked over at the young lieutenant with a fatherly expression.

"You are? Sir?"

"Yes. New relationship, testing the waters…etc. etc." Animal replied, pulling out a picture of a young blonde-haired woman with beautiful blue eyes and a winsome smile, directed at the camera, dressed in Navy khakis, lieutenant insignia on her right collar, a JAG insignia on her left.

"She's Navy?" the lieutenant asked in surprise as Animal nodded, "…then she understands. Mine's a civilian. Unfortunately she may or may not be understanding as to what a Navy career entails."

"Well..." Animal grinned wryly. "Better you know that now than three years and a kid into the relationship." He looked over at the opposite shoreline which was visible through the bay. "You know, in this Navy, relationships ain't easy. You're balancing career with a personal relationship and unless you two are on the same wavelength, you're pretty much going to have rocky seas." He patted the lieutenant on the back. "Just be honest to her…and she'll let you know what she's thinking."

_**JAG Headquarters**_

_**Falls Church, VA**_

_**0845 hrs**_

"Commander Rabb, Lieutenant Austin, Major Mackenzie. In my office please." Rear Admiral (upper half) AJ Chegwidden said as he strode through the bullpen enroute to his office. The three officers, who were in the bullpen at the time, fell into step behind him as he made his way into his office. "Naval Station Norfolk. Seaman Jack Grimes attached to the USS Theodore Roosevelt, became severely intoxicated while out partying at the Whitecaps bar. When he was confronted by Norfolk PD officers and arrested for being belligerent, he stood in front of a squad car of the Norfolk Police Department, unzipped his pants and urinated on the squad car. Norfolk PD is pressing charges of intoxication and vandalism to a police vehicle." Meg and Mac looked at each other trying to suppress identical giggles of amusement. AJ Chegwidden shot them a look of annoyance. He stood up. "Congratulations, Lieutenant Austin, Major Mackenzie, you will be defending Seaman Grimes." Handing them a folder and then handing another exact same folder to Harm. AJ leveled a grin at Meg and Mac, "Lieutenant Commander Rabb, you will be prosecuting the same individual on a charge of intoxication in public and conduct prejudicial to the reputation of the United States Navy."

Meg and Mac looked at each other. That'd teach them to laugh in the Judge Advocate General's office.

"Would the Judge Advocate General wish to constrain the charges to non-judicial punishment and a punitive letter of reprimand, sir?" Harm asked AJ. "I mean, sir, urinating on a police car, I don't believe is a court-martial offense, sir." AJ, himself, was trying to restrain cracking a smile at this.

"After all, how many times have we all wished we could do the same thing?" Snorted AJ.

"I don't believe that's funny. AJ." SECNAV growled as he entered the office. "Norfolk Police are not amused and they're wanting to lock up the sailor for the next 10 years even though that may not be possible, the most they can do is lock him up for three weeks for disturbing the peace, urinating on a squad car and public indecency. That's going to mean he's going to miss movement. I've seen the report, AJ – the Norfolk PD report, it somehow managed to find its way onto my desk, I've brought you a copy if you don't happen to have one… DO you happen to find this funny? Major? Lieutenant?" Major Sarah Mackenzie and Lieutenant Meg Austin were trying very hard not to dissolve into laughter as they stood at attention. "Because I don't." The short SECNAV whirled around on Lieutenant Commander Harmon Rabb Jr. "DO YOU find this funny? Commander Rabb?"

Harm tried not to grin. "No sir, I don't, sir."

Turning back to AJ, the SECNAV growled "Well, AJ. I hope you do find out this seaman's intention and find out why he was doing what he was doing. If the punishment is severe enough on our end, the Norfolk PD will drop the charges and give us jurisdiction over this case." The SECNAV let out an irritated snort and stomped his way out of the office.

"Well…" AJ said breathing a sigh. "I guess we have our orders…to investigate the matter. You three should head down to Norfolk. Keep me informed. Dismissed."

Meg and the other two JAG lawyers headed to their respective offices. Meg grabbed her briefcase as her gaze drifted over her desk. "So…pardner." Harm drawled as he looked over at her. "Well…shall we get on the case of the seaman pisser." At that both Harm and Meg dissolved into laughter.

"But Harm. I'm not your partner on this case, I'm Mac's partner and I'm defending this…seaman…" she couldn't say the second name without laughing her head off. She paused when she noticed Harm was looking at her desk and the lone picture frame that rested on it. Her beau Commander Nakamura's picture was in the frame and he was resting a left arm over his flight helmet and his right hand on the forward part of the windshield of the F-14 Tomcat. Wearing a set of Ray-Bans, he was looking towards the camera and grinning. It was Meg's favorite picture of him. Looking up at her, Harm raised an eyebrow. "Harm, it's a budding relationship. It's in the testing out phase, right now…and we're going to go through a major test as he's deploying sometime in the next week."

"Do you hope it lasts?" Harm asked. Harm hoped for Meg's sake that Animal was the guy he thought he was – that he was reliable and worth it for Meg.

"I hope so. He's sweet and kind. The type of guy that my mom wishes I bring home more often – not that I've brought home very many. She asks about you, and she really likes Tosh. In fact you two are the only two that she really thinks were worth anything." Meg said, her eyes focused far on the horizon out her window. "I think he and I have gone out to dinner at least twenty times since last month…so we're getting our time together before he deploys."

"And you've taken him home to see your family? I think it's getting serious." Harm wryly grinned as Meg bounced a fist off his shoulder. "Ow! Well…I think we'd better go head for Norfolk before the traffic starts getting ugly with midday traffic."

"Yeah…let's do that…shall we?"

_**Naval Station Norfolk, **_

_**Norfolk, VA**_

_**1045 hrs**_

Lieutenant Phil "Metalman" Burrows looked at the grey hulled behemoth. The USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) was a Nimitz-class carrier and home of CVW-8 when not home in NAS Oceana. The USS Theodore Roosevelt carried over 90 aircraft in an entire airwing and the TR was armed to the teeth with missiles and bombs as well as surface to air anti-aircraft batteries. The R2-D2 like CIWS (Close-In Weapons System) otherwise known as the C-Whiz could put up a hail of 20mm shells shredding anything in the general direction of whatever the CIWS pointed at.

As a Lieutenant, Metalman was heading into his 3rd deployment with a fighter squadron. He was with the VF-41 Black Aces even though he had hoped that the VF-103 Jolly Rogers would take him with their D's. However he wasn't lucky, he got assigned to the Black Aces and they were commanded by a well-decorated commander. Where he did get lucky was that he was tolerated by his commander for being a mouthy, annoying little cuss. He could never do anything without making a joke out of it. And briefings were hysterically funny since he'd do anything to crack his fellow squadron-mates up. He was lucky that he had someone who would tolerate his shenanigans as any other squadron commander would have summarily drummed his ass out of the United States Navy on an Article 89 – Disrespect to a Senior Officer. But Animal considered himself lucky that Metalman confined himself to verbal snark and was a competent flyer with a nose for aerial combat. If he Article 89'd Metalman, he could find himself tasked with a hard charging, hair on fire, dumber than a bag of bricks naval aviator who didn't know his head from his ass…and that would be far worse than having to tolerate Metalman's mouthy antics. He considered himself very lucky.

As he saw Animal at the quarter-deck ready to debark the carrier, Metalman lifted up his voice and called out. "Hey, boss! We done yet?"

Animal didn't respond as he was saluting the quarterdeck. A shrill whistle came from the Officer of the Deck. "VF-41 CO...departing!" As Animal came down the gangplank, he replied. "I think we're done here, but we have to sign off at the JAG office here to indicate that we've made the inspection of our berthing areas on the boat…as well as the hangar areas we're allotted. Then we can make our way over to…" At that, he was interrupted by the ringing cell-phone that was in his pocket. Pulling out the phone, he answered it. Meanwhile, Metalman was making faces at the phone. "Lieutenant…the phone isn't a vid-phone." Animal said quietly to Metalman who pretty much ignored the comment.

"Hey…" Meg's sweet voice essayed from the phone's receiver. "Where you at?"

"NS Norfolk. I'm down checking on the squadron areas onboard ship. I'm just about done, so I was going to be heading back to NAS Oceana after we stop into sign off."

"Think you can find an excuse to stick around Norfolk for another couple hours?" Meg asked, her begging tone evident over the phone line.

"I could." Animal grinned. Metalman was making more lovelorn faces, more kissy fish faces and holding his hand to his heart. Animal smacked him on the back of the head.

"OW!" yelled Metalman wincing in pain after getting his brain-cage rattled.

"What was that?" asked Meg who heard a rather piercing yell from Metalman.

"Oh…Metalman tripped over a tie-down. He wasn't watching where he was going." Animal laughed while Metalman looked offended.

"Oh…" Meg replied over the phone. "What sound was that before he yelled? It sounded like a slap more than a crack of shin on metal."

"Uh…that was him smacking himself on the forehead for being so dumb as to trip over a tie-down. Meg." Animal replied all too innocently.

"No, I didn't, you slapped me." Metalman complained as he adopted an aggrieved look of hurt and sniffed. "Isn't there some Article in the UCMJ about junior officer abuse?"

Meg's cheery laughter was evident over the phone's small receiver. "If you don't knock it off." Animal told Metalman. "I'm going to give you a noogie then I'm going to take you up to the fantail of the TR and dump you off the end of the boat."

"Sweetheart…be nice." Meg said overhearing Animal's threat to Metalman.

"Excuse me, gentlemen." Animal and Metalman stood at attention as a vice-admiral approached. "If I may interrupt your cuffing your junior officer across the back of the head…you are Commander Toshio Nakamura?" Receiving an affirmative nod from Animal, he continued. "I just received a fax that you would be here today checking out the VF-41 berthing onboard the TR. I've just received a deep-selection notice from the CNO, the Captain's Board convened three weeks ago. You were on the list for deep-selection. I believe you are out of uniform, Captain." The admiral was also in khakis, his three stars glittering and his aviator wings glimmered golden in the sunlight. "I trust you will also be taking over command of CVW-8 as Commander Air Wing Eight."

"Sir, so what happens to my squadron?" Animal asked quietly thinking about the fact that his second sea tour as a squadron commander had just been eliminated.

"Well, your XO takes over as squadron commanding officer. You still deploy, but you will be responsible for getting up to speed on the F/A-18C Hornet and the other types in your air wing." The admiral replied practically giving Animal a heart-attack – he had less than a week to get up to speed on 6 different types of fixed wing aircraft as well as several other rotary wing.

As if over-hearing Animal's inaudible mental shriek of fright, the admiral reassured him. "You will have time to get up to speed on the aircraft during the course of your deployment as the deployment time is so close. But get certified on the types when you get back to Norfolk.

"Aye aye, sir." Animal responded.

"Honey…" Meg responded…as she heard silence over the phone-line and the admiral talking. "Are you still there?"

"Congratulations, Captain." The admiral congratulated Captain Nakamura "Get your new insignia at the PX."

"Aye, aye, sir." Animal responded.

"Honey?" Meg asked pointedly as she was unsure of why Animal wasn't answering her hails.

"I don't know if you heard, Sweetie." Animal said to Meg as he returned to the phone call which had kept Meg on the line.

"What?" Meg asked. "All I heard was the admiral saying congratulations. Congratulations for what?"

"You'll see…" Animal said enigmatically.

"Ooooooh…" Meg grumbled ominously. She hated secrets and especially waiting for secrets to be revealed and knowing her temper, Animal knew that he was going to end up with a nasty retribution.

"I'll be over at the base PX after Metalman and I get something to eat at the Mess." Animal said. "So maybe you can meet me at the PX?"

"OK…"

_**Navy Sedan**_

Meg hung up the phone as the car came to a red light a block before the on-ramp to the interstate. As the Navy sedan came to a stop, Harm and Mac looked over the seat inquisitively to Meg. "Did you get a hold of him?" Mac asked while Harm just looked at her with an ingratiating grin.

"Yeah, he is at NS Norfolk right now. Last I talked to him; he was cuffing Lieutenant Burrows across the back of the head." Meg stated cheerily. "Evidently, Lieutenant Burrows was annoying him."

"I'm surprised Burrows hasn't been court-martialed yet." Mac said admiringly. "He's got more lives than a cat."

"…or an incredibly lenient commanding officer." Meg replied softly. "Evidently, according to Tosh, he tripped over a tie-down post." She laughed. Harm and Mac chuckled softly. The comedic interactions between Animal and Metalman were epic. The lieutenant must have led a charmed life considering how often the lieutenant pissed off the commanding officer yet managed to slide away unscathed.

_**Naval Station Norfolk, **_

_**Norfolk, VA**_

_**1225 hrs**_

Harm guided the sedan into a parking spot. "I'll start off the interviews. Mac will talk with the commanding officer and you…" he winked at Meg. "…can go find Animal." He said ingratiatingly.

"OK…" Meg acquiesced as she grabbed her briefcase as Mac agreed that she would handle the case. Animal would probably be in the Base PX as he had said and that was the first place in which she looked.

Animal looked up as Meg entered the PX and he smiled when her eyes located him and she started walking over to him. As they were on a military base, all Meg did was give him a chaste hug and a softly purred "How are ya?" Then her eyes rested on Animal's collar and they did a double-take. "When did this happen?" She asked, her eyes resting on the silver eagles on Animal's collar instead of silver oak leaves.

"That's what the admiral talking to me was about while you were hanging on the other end of the phone call." Animal said. "He said I was deep-selected to O-6."

"OH MY GOD!" She shrilled happily as she threw her arms around her boyfriend's neck. To hell with not engaging in PDAs, her boyfriend was now a Captain in the US Navy. "Harm's gonna be so jealous." She said. Metalman was over by the admirals service dress blues section.

"Hey, Animal…how does this look?" he grinned as he tried on a vice-admiral's jacket. Animal raised an eyebrow.

"Isn't there something in the UCMJ about an officer wearing a uniform with rank insignia that he is not entitled to wear?" Animal asked archly at Meg. "Because you might be able to nail his ass on that." Metalman hastily removed the jacket with a sheepish look.

"Hmmm." Meg said playfully "I don't know. I'll have to check when I get back to the office."

"Gee…Animal, you never let me have any fun…" whined Metalman as he slunk back to the two officers.

"That's because every time you have fun, you run the risk of an Article 32." Animal said disgustedly at Metalman. "The last time, you flat-hatted down Perry's Pike trying to scare the gophers back into their holes for the rest of the season, we received six complaints from sheep-farmers trying to keep their ewes from dropping their lambs due to fright…and I had to ward off both the SECNAV and the CNO from stripping your wings off you."

"Why didn't we hear about that?" asked Meg, with a faux sense of official concern that greatly seemed to alarm Metalman who only knew that investigation didn't get as far as the Judge Advocate General's office.

"It didn't reach as far as the JAG office." Animal confirmed. "I called in a few favors for this asshole or other wise he'd be on corrosion control on the USS Merrimack. The blue button helps. That and eighty-nine cents gets me a cup of coffee." Animal said disgustedly. "The things I do to save your sorry ass, you miserable degenerate." He poked Metalman in the shoulder who tried to look remarkably innocent as his commanding officer gave him a disgusted look.

"And I thank you every time…" Metalman replied trying to butter up the newly minted CVW-8 CAG.

"And then promptly get into trouble again." Animal muttered rolling his eyes.

_**Naval Air Station Oceana**_

_**Virginia Beach, VA**_

_**1245 hrs **_

"Did you get the news?" Captain Jason "Rattler" Teague grinned as he looked at his XO. He had taken over from as CAG from Captain Cliff "Tree" Forster. Rattler had just gotten the "rear admiral lower half" selectee nomination from the admirals promotion board and he was just waiting on word as to who his successor would be. He grinned as he read the name on the list slated to be CVW-8 CAG. "Man. Animal got it."

"He deserves it, CAG." XO Captain Greg "Gomer" Pyle grinned back as he looked at the sheet of paper afterwards. "So I wonder who he's going to keep around as XO? I'm slated to get orders to a shore duty staff assignment, but if he's coming on, I wonder if I can still hang out as his XO."

"But wouldn't that eat into your promotion window? You just got promoted a year ago so you're not in your window yet." Rattler asked, "But if you pull off a cruise or two or another three years as XO you're gonna be wayyy into your promotion window."

"Would an extra tour look good on my promotion board assessment for rear admiral?" Gomer asked with a note of worry. "Because you know Animal, he'll wanna keep someone efficient."

"I dunno, Gomer. Anybody bucking for one-star needs a staff tour. And Animal doesn't want to shit all over your career by keeping you on when you need that staff tour." Rattler replied. "This is shit beyond my comprehension. I don't know about what detailers do. So you might want to discuss this with your detailer and see what he has to say before you make a decision one way or the other."

"Hey, you remember that hot blonde JAG lieutenant jg that came aboard during Animal's blue button investigation?" Gomer said. "Scuttlebutt has it, she's now Animal's woman." Nudge-nudge, wink-wink.

"How'd you know that?" Rattler asked. Even guys had their own gossip vine.

"Her picture's on his desk." Gomer grinned. "VF-41 Squadron CO's office. He'll have to be back to clear out his desk and move aboard the Commander Air Wing's office."

"Rib him then? Ask him when he and the little woman are tying the knot?" Rattler asked, a wide grin on her face.

"Little? Listen, Rattler. His woman's taller than he is by one inch and she wears female size 7s. So unless you want those size 7s surgically implanted in your ass, I'd suggest you knock off with the 'little' woman comments." Gomer said, shaking in fear but the merriment in his eyes belied that. "She's a JAG…and she might hit you with a sexual harassment charge."

The two officers both laughed cheerfully. Their shipmate was now their equal in rank. Rattler was sure that they were looking at the next Chief of Naval Operations. At least the deployment and how the air wing was run were now in Animal's hands. They could tell their significant others the good news that Rattler would have a quick change of command ceremony at Oceana and then head for a posting at the Pentagon under a two-star rear-admiral.

_**Naval Station Norfolk, **_

_**Norfolk, VA**_

_**1525 hrs**_

"Punitive letter of reprimand, non-judicial punishment, time served and two weeks loss of pay." Mac said as she looked smugly at him. "That's the offer."

"Punitive letter of reprimand, non judicial punishment, time served and six weeks loss of pay, Mac, he peed on a squad car." Harm replied with a grin as he counter-offered.

"I believe you and the admiral were snickering over that. Three weeks." Mac offered up one more week.

"At least we agree on the punitive letter of reprimand and non-judicial punishment." Harm said as he leaned against the wall of the office at the Norfolk brig. "Make that four weeks loss of pay."

"That's the best offer I'm going to get, isn't it?" Mac said wryly as she said as she saw Harm nod his head. "Yep…OK" They shook on it. "It's subject to our client agreeing to the counter-offer."

"Do your best. Mac. Hey…is Meg still talking with Animal?"

"Last I heard." Mac grinned in response.

Just then the door burst open as Meg came into the office. "Sorry about that. Did you interview the client?"

Harm raised an eyebrow. "Well…Lieutenant. I think the Major and I came to an agreement; that is…"

"Pending our client's approval of the counter-offer." Mac replied.

Meg asked, "Well? Sir, Ma'am."

"It's non-judicial punishment, punitive letter of reprimand, time served and four weeks loss of pay." Mac replied.

"I think that's fair." Meg said with that smile that lit up her face, just barely restraining her laughter. "Considering that he pissed on a police car. Norfolk PD probably wanted him locked away for life." The laughter of the JAG officers caused several brig guards to look up.

As they headed out of the brig after the defense team swayed their client to accept the terms of the counter-offer, they saw a lone officer in khakis standing by the JAG car, wearing a smile on his face.

"Animal!" Harm said as they drew closer, then as he noticed the eagles on the collar, he drew himself into the position of attention. "SIR!" then drew his right hand up into a salute. Animal returned his salute. "When did this happen?" Harm thought to ask.

"Just today, actually, Harm." Animal grinned slowly. "Turns out Vice-Admiral Harrison was out walking while I was giving Metalman a headache. He comes over and says I've been selected as a CAG."

"Oh…" Harm said as his eyes looked over at Animal's eagles again. "That's terrific. So does that put a crimp in your deployment plans."

"Nope. I still do this deployment, however I won't be able to entirely certify myself on the types in the air-wing until after I get back from the initial deployment." Animal said as he looked out at the bay. "One tour as a squadron commander, now a tour as a CAG. Whatever else, the stars are arranging themselves in the sky…so to speak."

"Well…that's good to hear, sir." Harm replied.

"Yeah…by the way. Lieutenant Commander Rabb, if I may take your lieutenant home? I promise to deliver her to JAG Headquarters after a brief stopover at NAS Oceana." Animal gave Meg a big grin to which she replied with a winsome smile.

"Sir, I can't refuse an O-6." Harm grinned, stepping back and then giving Animal a big salute which Animal returned equally. "Of course you may take Lieutenant Austin back. But sir, where is Metalman."

"We came in separate vehicles. Commander. The Lieutenant opted to take separate vehicles for his own safety." Animal grinned evilly. The three JAG officers knowing Metalman chuckled.

_**Naval Air Station Oceana**_

_**Virginia Beach, VA**_

_**1925 HRS**_

As Animal pulled up at the VF-41 Base Office, he saw Rattler and Gomer standing there. "Hey, you two reprobates!" Animal grinned at his former superior officers as he got out of the vehicle. "So what are you doing here at 1925 hrs?"

"Helping you move your belongings from your squadron CO's office to the CAG's office." Rattler said grinning. "Those eagles look good on your collars, shipmate!"

"Thanks. Guys." Rattler and Gomer were both wearing shipboard khakis too.

"And…well, hello!" Gomer said as he extended his hand to Meg who had gotten out of the car. "Lieutenant Austin. It's good to see you. Congratulations on your promotion."

"Thank you, sir. Long time since we met last, sir." Meg replied. "I think the last time we met was the investigation."

"That would be the case. Lieutenant" Gomer grinned.

With Gomer and Rattler's help the move only took an hour and Meg and Animal were back on the road again for the two hour trip to Falls Church. For most of it, it seemed as though Meg's left hand was on Animal's right hand. They spent the trip in companiable silence. As they pulled onto the road that the JAG Headquarters was on, Meg broke the silence. "So…you deploy next week." She said. "We've been dating for at least three months." She paused, as Animal made the right turn into the JAG Headquarters building and stopped at the Marine guard gate. Pulling out her ID from the purse and handing it to Animal as he handed over his ID. Both were checked and handed back and the Marine handed Animal a visitor's pass which he clipped to the side of his khaki uniform.

_**JAG Headquarters**_

_**Falls Church, VA**_

_**2125 hrs**_

"Coming back in a little late, are you not? Lieutenant Austin?" Rear Admiral Chegwidden mentioned when she stepped through the office doors with Captain Nakamura. "Captain Nakamura; an honor for you to come to visit the JAG office." RADM Chegwidden extended his hand to the Navy Captain.

"Sir." Animal replied as he shook the JAG's hand. "Just had to make sure the Lieutenant got back to her vehicle, sir, since Harm and Mac were coming back with the other vehicle the three all came down to Norfolk in."

"Well, good of you to do that, Captain, and now that I'm assured of the Lieutenant's safety, I'm going to head for home. You two try to keep from having too late of a night. I'll see you Monday, Lieutenant. Have a good weekend." He harrumphed in amusement as he headed, briefcase and khaki cover in hand to the elevator.

"Aye, aye, sir." Animal responded as he gave Meg a grin which she returned, as the elevator doors closed on the admiral. "Need to gather stuff?"

"Yep, I have two cases other than the one Mac and Harm wrapped up today, that I'm working on." Meg said. "But I don't have court appearances for another two weeks on those cases. At least I'll be able to see you off at Oceana." She said looking at him wistfully.

Animal nodded as he leaned against the wall of her office as she hustled around gathering the files that she needed to work on. She was an efficient officer, so it seemed, as she quickly put the files into her briefcase. Clicking the latches closed on her briefcase she looked at Animal and said. "I'm done."

"I'll walk you out to your car…" Animal said. "Quick bite of dinner?"

"Actually. I'd like to take it home…" she paused looking down at the ground and breathed quickly. "…and I'd really like…" she paused. "if you…" she looked deep into Animal's eyes. "…came home…with me." She said the last quickly. The moment was charged with anticipation as Animal and Meg leaned into each other's embrace and affirmed their choice with their lips.

_**Meg's Home**_

_**Arlington, VA**_

_**2245 hrs**_

Carrying the Chinese food upstairs, Meg and Animal looked at each other as Meg unlocked the door to her apartment. "Come on in…" Luckily Meg had a suite with two parking spaces so it wasn't odd that Animal was able to park there alongside Meg's car.

While they were ordering, Meg seemed a bit jumpy. Animal noticed quietly and it seemed like Meg was getting even more nervous as they returned to her home. They ate quietly, not really saying much. When Meg finished her dinner, she asked him to wait out in the living room while she changed. So Animal sat on the couch and waited.

When she did come out, his jaw had dropped on the ground. Her hair was down, she had on a robe and a a nightie. She looked really nervous. "I…" she stammered. "We've been dating now for three months. You've been the perfect gentleman." She said quickly, taking his hands pulling him to his feet from his seated position on the couch. "But…" she paused for a long painful moment. "I…don't want you to be the 'perfect gentleman' any longer." She said quickly in one breath as if she didn't say it that she wouldn't be able to say it. Her fingers quested at the buttons on his khaki shirt as she pulled him into her bedroom. She shut the door with her foot as she tugged at his belt with her hands.

_**Meg's Home**_

_**Arlington, VA**_

_**Next morning**_

_**0650 hrs**_

Animal opened his eyes blearily as he looked above as the alarm clock rang on the night-table beside him. Creamy white ceiling, frilly curtains on the windows. Nope, this didn't look like his BOQ quarters. He felt wrung out, but it was a great _wrung-out_ feeling. He peered down at his chest area and saw a bare arm flung over it, and that bare arm was attached to a female body, her shoulders also bare half out of the covers. Her blonde hair was tousled with both sleep and their nocturnal intimacy and she had a smile on her face as she slept. Animal leaned in to nuzzle her and she murmured softly as one eye came open.

"mmmmm…" He heard her moan quietly. "Oh…I feel so tired…and I ache all over…" Her Texas drawl was even more apparent when she was tired. She rolled over under the covers on top of him, evidently the rest of her was bare too and he saw her blue eyes looking into his own brown ones. "a very good sort of ache." Meg purred softly as she reached down under the covers with her right hand. Animal's eyes widened and he gave her a slow grin as he realized just what her hand was reaching for.

_**Meg's Home**_

_**Arlington, VA**_

_**0850 hrs**_

The water pounded on their torsos as Meg and Animal conserved water or wasted water, depending on one's perspective. Meg arched her back as she groaned out a supplication to a higher power. Her legs felt like they turned to jelly. "You do know…" she gasped catching her breath. "We're not…getting any cleaning…done here." She said as her hair was plastered to the nape of her neck and scalp from water cascading onto her from the shower head, as Animal embraced her from behind, nuzzling her neck and planting kisses all over it. "I'm glad I brought you home." She whispered softly as her breathing came back down to normal.

"I'm glad you brought me home too." Animal grinned back at her as he felt her wet body against him.

"That was so worth it…" Meg sighed as she leaned back against Animal and started kissing his neck, her bare wet body rubbing up against his bare wet body starting a fire deep inside him again.

"Weren't we supposed to be soaping up and cleaning ourselves?" Animal teased as his hands gripped her bare waist and pulled her to him sending amorous sensations through her as her rear contacted his waist and lightly brushed his groin.

"Well…It seems like we end up doing other things." Meg purred sensuously turning around in his arms to face him, "And those things are soo much more enjoyable" her legs intertwined around Animal's waist, her back firmly up against the wall of the shower while the water continued to cascade over them. "Oh…yesss." She moaned softly as she felt him press up against her and gasped audibly as he accommodated her desires.

As she descended from a peak again almost half an hour later, Animal whispered in her ear. "You know it's almost 9:30, do you think we should get washed off?" Unable to speak coherently, Meg just nodded.

_**Meg's Home**_

_**Arlington, VA**_

_**Outside by the intercom**_

_**0930 hrs **_

"Hmmm…Meg doesn't seem to be answering." Harm looked quizzically at the apartment intercom. "That's strange. She usually answers when she's home."

"Are you sure she's home?" Mac asked. "Animal did say he was going to drive her home."

"What do you mean?" Harm asked. "She should have gotten home yesterday."

"Are you sure she didn't forget we were supposed to go over the files and instead headed over to Animal's place?"

Harm shook his head "No…Animal doesn't have a place of his own, he lives out of the BOQ. He'd be unable to take Meg there."

"Well, maybe he took her to a motel?" Mac gave Harm a sneaky grin just waiting to see his reaction to that. Motels did carry a sordid reputation for more than being just a ready place to drop one's head on the pillow to get some rest. "I saw a couple of them on our way over here from Falls Church. Should we see if they checked into any of them?"

"No, I think we should just keep ringing." Harm insisted. "She's probably tired and still asleep. When she's awake and alert enough, she'll answer." Watching the clock tick slowly forward towards 1000hrs, Harm wondered what was taking so long for Meg to answer.

_**Meg's Home**_

_**Arlington, VA**_

_**1000hrs**_

There was an insistent beeping from the telephone as Meg and Animal got dressed; Animal back in his shipboard khakis and Meg into a casual jeans and white shirt. Meg made sure that the discarded clothes had been tossed into the laundry and the dryer in between some very interesting and amorous encounters overnight, so even if the khakis were a little wrinkled they were wearable. The incessant ringing continued.

"Sweetie." Meg asked as she pulled some socks on, "Can you answer that? That's the main door alert"

"Sure…" Animal said as he walked over to the telephone, picked it up and barked. "Who is it?"

"Harm!" Animal heard the familiar voice on the intercom.

"…and Mac…" a female voice on the intercom.

"OK…" Animal said as he unlocked the main apartment door and about five minutes later they heard a knock on Meg's door.

"Hey…fancy seeing you here…" Harm raised an eyebrow giving Animal a look as if to say 'What's going on?' Animal didn't oblige him by talking. What happened between Meg and him was between Meg and him.

"Well…he was lost and I brought him home…I might even keep him." Meg said, giving Harm a look as if to say drop the subject or suffer consequences. Animal looked smug as he looked over at Harm.

"I forgot the overnight bag in the car. Hon." Animal leaned over to give Meg a kiss.

"You'd better get it then change into civvies. Sweetheart." Meg replied returning the kiss and handing him her apartment keys which made Harm's eyebrows reach his hairline.

As Animal departed to get his overnight bag from the car, Mac started in on Meg as the two of them retired to the kitchen telling Harm to go inspect the wall or something. "So…was this scenario that we saw what we think we saw?" Mac asked connivingly with a sly grin on her face.

"I really don't know what you thought you saw…" Meg riposted. "Mac." She grinned, an unspoken sentence passing between the two of them.

"oh." Mac said. Harm was oblivious in the living room. Mac saw through the dodging and grinned.

"You have a dirty mind." Meg said to Mac.

By that time, Harm put 'overnight bag' together with the scenario he had walked into. Animal answering the intercom and the door. Meg pulling on her socks as she walked out of the bedroom. Both of them with hair still damp; both wearing Cheshire cat grins on their faces. It was amazing his head didn't explode. His first thought was 'oh…my…god…" coupled with "Meg and Animal are…". He didn't want to think about the rest. Hell, he didn't even want to finish that original thought.

As Animal walked back into the suite, Harm shot Animal a look, behaving the part of the older brother to Meg, grabbing him by the arm, asked "Animal. Can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Sure." Animal replied as he looked over at Harm casually. He knew what was coming.

"You know I love Meg like a sister, right?" Harm said. "She's always been my partner and she's a great woman, a good friend and I don't want her to be hurt. OK?"

"You know I won't, pal." Animal said gripping Harm's right shoulder. "She's special to me."

"…and for God's sakes, man…" Harm grinned as he whispered the last, "If you and Meg are" he nudged Animal's shoulder "…make sure you use protection…so that you don't get her in the family way before you put a ring on her finger."

Animal thanked his lucky stars that he wasn't drinking something or he would have spewed the drink all over the carpet at Harm's comment. He extended his hand to Harm's and gripped it solidly. "You have my word."

"Lucky thing you're an honorable man…Rotsy!" Harm smirked at Animal.

"Yeah…spending a ton of time with you Canoe U pukes rubs off." Animal smirked back at Harm with a ROTC is superior look. "So…what brings you two by?"

"Oh…just in the area and needed to talk to Meg about the case that Meg and I are working on." Harm explained casually as he indicated his briefcase.

"Oh…OK… I'll just watch the idiot box and pretend to be deaf then." Animal grinned back.

Harm nodded. He had the same viewpoint on TVs as his friend. Meg and Mac both enjoyed TV. Animal complained vociferously about the TV. He could usually find other things to do than sit in front of the TV and watch mindless programming. And lately the TV shows were growing more and more insipid and stupid especially with the intrusion of reality TV. Animal would rather pull his camera out and go shoot wildlife photography with his large super-telephoto lens when he wasn't flying his F-14 Tomcat.

Mac and Meg came out of the kitchen looking for Harm and Mac had an all-knowing expression on her face.

"What, Major?" Animal asked.

At the query, it was all Mac could do to keep a straight face. "Nothing, sir." She replied innocently.

Meg turned beet-red with embarrassment. Meg excused herself for a moment and as she walked past Animal, she leaned over and whispered. "I think they know."

"oh."

_**Meg's Home**_

_**Arlington, VA**_

_**1145 hrs**_

"I think Chief Mechanic's Mate Devereaux should get two years confinement and a bad conduct discharge." Meg said.

"Why, he just asked Gunner's Mate First Class Davis out on a date." Harm replied.

"Well, he tried to proposition her in front of the entire main mount crew onboard the USS Cayuga, sir." Meg insisted. "It wasn't romantic, sir. It was creepy." She shook her head.

"I'm sure you know what romantic is now…" Harm said giving Meg a teasing smile.

"You're going to get decked, sir…if you keep up your teasing." Meg said.

"…and I'm not even going to protect you…Harm." Mac replied smugly.

"Ah…the woman's mutual aid society." Harm said and then promptly said "OW!" as Mac kicked him in the shins under the table. Harm looked offended.

Meg got up and got some more coffee so that the three could go through the files.

Meanwhile, Animal was looking through his briefcase at the various information files as a prelude to CVW-8's deployment that required his perusal out in the living room.

_**Meg's Home**_

_**Arlington, VA**_

_**1335 hrs**_

"So, what are you going to do now?" Meg was asked by Mac as she got her files gathered together.

"Probably spend the afternoon getting groceries…kinda fun to do it with a man around." Meg said. "And if we have any light left, we'll probably take a dip in the pool."

Harm looked kind of aggrieved. "Why did _we_ never do that?" he asked, his mouth in a frown-like pout.

"Well…" Meg smirked at him. "You weren't that particular man." She gestured to the outside living room where Animal was sitting on the couch reading HIS files. Ouch.

Mac gave voice to Harm's injured ego. "Oooooooooh. That was a harsh one. Burn." She grinned seeing Harm's sour expression.

"Oh, cork it, Marine." Harm grumbled.

Meg went out to the living room as Harm and Mac grabbed the rest of their files. Out of the corner of Harm's eye he could see Meg lean over, give Animal a passionate kiss…whispering. "We're done, sweetheart." He saw Animal look up, give Meg a beaming smile…and kiss her back.

"Ah…c'est l'amour." He said, botching the French words. Mac was looking over at Meg and Animal with a _I wish I had that_ expression on her face. At that, Harm looked at her and rolled his eyes. Women. Romantics…all of them.

"Well, we're going…" Harm said. "Don't spend too much time making Animalets" he teased as he ducked out the door as Meg raised her arm to threaten him with a sofa cushion. "Or you might be too tired to make it in to work on Monday." Mac knowing that this was bound to happen had exited before Harm.

Meg hurled the sofa cushion at Harm, just barely missing him as it bounced off the closing door, "Oh…that man. He's infuriating."

"Want I should bust him down to ensign?" Animal grinned at Meg.

"Naw…sweetie, I'll make him suffer on Monday." Meg replied as she shook her head. "I think we need to restock the fridge though." She said.

"I'll pitch in." Animal grinned back at her.

Meg protested as she caressed Animal's arm. "Hon, you don't need to do that. I've got enough money to do a good solid shopping trip to restock."

"C'mon, sweetheart." Animal replied. "Let me do this. I hardly ever use the money I make and it's just going to be sitting in the bank account while I'm on deployment. That way I make sure you've got enough."

"Oh. All right…" she grumbled. "But…don't get into the habit of thinking you can coddle me…I can provide for myself."

"Aye, aye…ma'am." Animal grinned as they leaned in closer and their lips met in a kiss that electrified them to the tips of their toes.

_**Meg's Home**_

_**Arlington, VA**_

_**1745 Hrs**_

After getting home and putting up the groceries. Meg crashed out on the couch to relax nestled in the arms of her boyfriend. When Animal said that they should do a good solid grocery shopping, he meant what he said. They had practically filled their cart to overflowing and it took every free space in Animal's car which was larger than Meg's to bring everything home. It damned near took up every part of her fridge as well as the overflow freezer in her in-suite storage room.

As they looked at each other, Meg asked. "So…will you write me when you're on deployment?"

"I will…" Animal replied as he gazed into Meg's questioning blue eyes. "Every single day – e-mails too." He assured her softly as he raised his hand to her face and caressed her cheek.

"I'll write you too as often as I can." Meg stated as she looked at him. "I want you to fly safe and come home to me."

_**Naval Air Station Oceana**_

_**Virginia Beach, VA**_

_**Monday**_

_**0735 hrs**_

"Gentlemen, we are airborne tomorrow at 0900 hrs. We will be rendezvousing with the USS Theodore Roosevelt one day into her sailing out of Norfolk and we will trap onboard the TR at 1000 hrs. Family members will be at the fly-out and we will be treating this like an air show performance. Weather is estimated to be good at the boat and it will be a CASE 1 Mode 1 approach to the deck. Be sure you get some sleep before our early departure. No parties…no alcohol, alcohol restrictions prior to flight time are in effect. You are dry as of now." Animal stated firmly as the CAG. "We will also have many flights coming in throughout the course of the day and the fighter squadrons, both Tomcats and Hornets, are slated to be first on board, we do not want to have to send up air-to-air refueling and most of those assets will not yet be on board, so do your damndest to get aboard on the first pass. As former VF-41 CO, I will be flying Fast Eagle's double nuts in. Any questions so far?" There was none. "OK…gentlemen. Preflight briefing at 0500 hrs and we mount up at 0800 hrs.

The squadron members didn't joke as they knew that the majority of accidents happened at the beginning and the end of the deployments. With the former, the aircrews were eager to get out to blue water and start their deployment; with the latter, they were eager to get home and see their families after a six month deployment. Animal would have to stress slowing down and making sure that the crews understood that they needed to complete all their checks before mounting up.

The start to a deployment was stressful and all the aircrews were feeling it. Trapping on board an aircraft carrier was quite the evolution and after having not done it for a while, having had the luxury of a stationary runway to land on, not one that was the size of a postage stamp bobbing up and down in the middle of an ocean, that was bound to give aviators a case of the shits.

Animal on the other hand was looking forward to this deployment. As he thought back to the weekend, he grinned. Meg had utterly ravished him all weekend, he was achingly sore and he was going to miss her lying next to him in bed. They had taken a big step forward in their relationship, having grown intimate with each other. Meg, the innocent looking lieutenant, had utterly floored Animal with the depth of carnal knowledge she had.

Meg promised that she was going to make the fly-out even if she had to browbeat AJ into letting her come. The only thing was that both Harm and Mac wanted to come out to in order to send their brother-in-arms out in style.

Animal yawned as he remembered 3AM that morning. It was an early morning wakeup and Meg was barely awake when Animal's alarm went off at her place in Arlington. She had moaned softly when he had nibbled her neck. Giving her a passionate kiss, he had whispered "I love you" in her ear "I need to get going, I have a briefing to give at 0730 hrs."

"Drive safe, lover." She had murmured softly in his ear as she teased him with a soft caress and a love-bite on his ear.

_**JAG Headquarters**_

_**Falls Church, VA**_

_**Monday**_

_**0735 hrs**_

"Sir!" Meg Austin snapped to attention as she stood in the Judge Advocate General's office.

"What is it?" AJ raised an eyebrow as he looked up to see Lieutenant Austin. "Lieutenant."

"Sir, my boyfriend is flying off for a six month deployment on board the USS Theodore Roosevelt." She ventured cautiously.

"…and I presume this particular boyfriend would be the CAG of CVW-8?" AJ grunted looking up at her with a saturnine stare making Meg wonder if he would be in the mood to grant her a day off.

"Yes, sir." Meg replied.

"…and you wish to take a day off and go see your boyfriend off on his deployment. Is this assumption correct?" Good God, the admiral almost sounded about as gloomy as Eeyore.

"Yes sir." Meg felt deflated as the admiral shot her a reticent look.

"Granted." Was all he said. "Dismissed. And tell your two other cohorts in crime who have been waffling this past hour about coming in to ask me the same damned thing, that they can go with you…saves them coming in to disturb my peace and quiet."

"Thank you, sir."

"Dismissed, Lieutenant. Get some work done today. That is all" the admiral said with a tone of finality in his voice.

Meg smiled softly as she exited the admiral's sanctum. For all the grumpy reputation that AJ Chegwidden carried with him, he was a softy when he knew that his officers needed something or had a relationship that they were pursuing. Evidently he was a romantic at heart.

_**Naval Air Station Oceana**_

_**Virginia Beach, VA**_

_**Monday**_

_**0900 hrs**_

Animal was throwing uniforms into a garment bag that would be trucked out to a baggage pod to be loaded onto his F-14 Tomcat. Five sets of khakis. Five sets of service whites (sans shoulderboards – he had tucked the commander shoulder-boards into his storage container and shipped that out of his BOQ room to a storage place which he had set down eight months of payment) and then of course the dress whites just in case there was a ceremonial occasion on board the boat. He looked at the black and khaki windbreakers as well as two nomex flight jackets – a CWU-36/P and a CWU-45/P. He debated on whether to take his leather G-1 and finally opted to throw it in too. He had two of them still emblazoned with commander's shoulder-rank insignia on them. He'd have to exchange them for captain's eagles. He took three sets of flight suits excluding the one he was wearing for the flight out. All of this would be on his baggage pod. He also threw together some civilian clothes for the ports of call that called for wearing civvie clothing. Sometimes in a port of call you didn't want to exhibit the fact that you were a US Navy type. It could draw all sorts of trouble.

…and that was the last thing he needed.

He realized he needed to go on an insignia buying trip to the PX that day. But there were meetings and other things that he needed to do. If worst came to worst, he'd go buy out the captain collar-rank insignias at the PX onboard the TR. But he figured at least that he'd better head over to the Oceana PX and try to get some O-6 shoulder-boards. Those would be hard to find onboard the TR.

Change of command ceremony for Rattler was going to be at 1300 hrs so that everything would be taken care of. Change of command ceremony for VF-41 would be at 1100 hrs so there wasn't a whole hell of a lot of time to take care of things. Animal had all the paperwork and fitreps for all the officers under his command done so that he could hand them over to the incoming VF-41 CO.

_**JAG Headquarters**_

_**Falls Church, VA**_

_**Monday**_

_**0945 hrs**_

"Hey, pardner!" Harm grinned as he looked in the door of Meg's office. Meg looked up at him giving him an amused look.

"Are you getting any work done? Harm?" she asked archly, "Because I'm trying to…" she smirked with a superior glance.

"Oh…?" Harm curved his lips upward, lines of amusement apparent in his face. "…you are, are you? Why do you have that dreamy look on your face? Thinking of Animal? …While you're trying to do your work." He needled his friend.

"Oh…ha ha…very funny." Meg growled in annoyance. "As a matter of fact, I am looking forward to our trip out to Oceana tomorrow so that we can see him off on his deployment." She admitted finally as Harm generated an _I must have hit close to the mark _expression. "…and get that smirk off your face, Harm!" she grumbled.

"Lieutenant Commander Rabb…" Mac appeared at Harm's side. "Meg, is Harm bothering you?" she asked innocently, jamming an elbow in Harm's ribs.

"Ow!" Harm complained as he rubbed his injured side.

"As a matter of fact." Meg complained with a belying look of amusement at Harm's attempts to tease her. "He's been standing there for the past five minutes trying to glean details of a personal relationship that I have no interest in allowing him details on. In fact, I was trying to get some work done on the Glidden conduct unbecoming case when he stuck his face in here."

"OK…ok…" Harm said with a faux tone of injured pride in his voice. "I can tell when I'm not wanted around here. Ms. Women's Mutual Aid Society." He shot a look of hurt at Mac which Mac didn't believe for one second and departed for his own office. "I'll go now." He shot back as he entered his own office as Mac and Meg suppressed giggles of amusement.

_**Naval Air Station Oceana**_

_**Virginia Beach, VA**_

_**Monday**_

_**1500 hrs**_

Animal sighed as he changed out of the spare dress whites and swapped back into khakis that he had after the final change of command ceremonies. Pomp and circumstance surrounded these change of command ceremonies, all the squadron members mustered…and an even bigger assemblage for the Air Wing Change of Command ceremony including some admirals. The final _I relieve you, sir_ marked Rattler's last moment as Commander, Air Wing 8 and Animal's first moment assuming the mantle of command over Rattler's former air wing. And he would be on his way on the first deployment as the CAG of CVW-8 tomorrow at 0900.

"Hey, CAG!" Rattler's former DCAG popped his head in the office. "Can I talk to you?"

"Sure, Gomer. Siddown, take a load off." Animal replied as he looked up and smiled.

"Sure thing, Animal." Gomer planted six in chair. "I was talking to Rattler about my potentially staying on as DCAG. Also talked to my detailer. He said that I was in my promotion window and the thing I required on my to-do list to qual for one-star was to do a staff-tour."

"…well…" Animal said "You need a staff-tour to qualify and I don't want to keep you from your one-star because it's a hell of a choice. You gotta step up in your promotion window and get the things you need or they pass you by. As much as I'd like to have you as an experienced DCAG, you need to do what's right for your career, buddy and doing a second tour as a DCAG isn't going to do that for you." Animal leaned back in his chair, thumb and forefinger against his lips as he thought about having to get a DCAG assigned to the air wing on short notice. "Now, I'm going to have to put it to you point blank. Gomer, You're not going to get a shore assignment that quickly. It may take a month for something to come up. If you had one that quickly, you'd already be knocking on the door for it right now. So in that event you are deploying tomorrow with the air wing and that will buy me time to find a DCAG to slot in your position when that staff position comes open." Animal looked at Gomer, who looked suitably impressed that Animal was so on top of his game already fully comfortable as the commander, air wing. "And…Gomer, you are going to take that staff position when it comes open. Your career depends on it."

Gomer stood up, locked up and said. "Aye, aye, sir!"

"Glad we understand each other, DCAG…" Animal grinned at him.

"Great to have you on board, CAG." Gomer replied extending a hand as Animal shook it.

_**JAG Headquarters**_

_**Falls Church, VA**_

_**Monday**_

_**1700 hrs**_

"Mac. What do you say that the three of us head down to Virginia Beach after work today. That'll save us an early morning trip out to Oceana?"

"Sounds like a great idea. Harm." Mac replied. "I always keep my overnight in the car, I can just transfer it over to your car."

Meg was in the bullpen overhearing the conversation. "I take it we're carpooling?" she asked Harm and Mac as she stepped up to them.

"Yep." Harm replied. "I think going down to Oceana tonight is a better idea than trying to get up at 0200 hrs in the morning and trying to drive half-asleep for four hours straight, wouldn't you say, Lieutenant?"

"I think that's a great idea, sir." Meg smirked at him. "Just so long as we can grab a bite to eat on the way, I'm famished! If we secure now, we can get into Virginia Beach by 2100 hours. How's the chance of getting motel rooms?"

"That's the other thing, Meg. If we secure now, at 2100 arrival in Virginia Beach, we should still be able to get a couple of rooms. We go any later, we'll run into problems."

"Any Beltway Burgers out that way?" Mac asked, "Because if not, I'm stopping by my favorite place…or shall we say YOU are stopping by my favorite place to allow me to buy something to eat and that, counselor, is not negotiable!"

Harm gave her a nervous look. "Aye, aye. Ma'am!" he said.

"I'll go tell the admiral, we're securing early." Mac said as she tossed a look back over her shoulder.

_**Virginia Beach Hilton**_

_**Virginia Beach, VA**_

_**2100 hrs**_

Harm maneuvered the Navy JAG Grand Marquis through the streets of Virginia Beach. Luckily they found a hotel with a vacancy sign. Parking the vehicle in the hotel parking lot, they went in and were able to locate two vacant rooms. The rest of the rooms were booked solid.

"Looks like I get the spare room." Harm grinned. "You and Meg get to room together. I'm sure you two will be chattering all night. Ah…a good night's sleep." He stretched his arms up in the air and let out a gigantic yawn and then favored the two women with a smug expression.

Mac gave him an _I'm not impressed_ look and then shot Meg a look to say _the pranks we can pull on him._ Meg gave her an equally evil smile. Harm nonchalantly grabbed his overnight bag and headed for the elevator and didn't see the looks that Meg and Mac exchanged.

_**Virginia Beach Hilton**_

_**Virginia Beach, VA**_

_**0100 hrs**_

"Who is this?" Harm growled into the phone line. "Do you know what time it is?"

"Sir, you paged us for a wakeup at 0100 hrs. We're just obliging." The front desk replied.

"I don't recall a wakeup being set for 0100 hrs." Harm said confused. "If not, I didn't make any outbound calls from this suite."

_**Virginia Beach Hilton**_

_**Virginia Beach, VA**_

_**0330 hrs**_

A knock on the door interrupted Harm from a deep slumber. "Geez, what the hell is it now?"

"Sir. Someone from this suite called down to the front desk for a firmer pillow?" Room service replied.

"No…I didn't make any calls for a pillow from this suite. I was dead asleep when you knocked." Harm grumbled irritated.

_**Virginia Beach Hilton**_

_**Virginia Beach, VA**_

_**0430 hrs**_

A knock on the door interrupted Harm from sleep for a second time. Flinging open the door, he growled. "What is it now?"

A room service attendant stood there with a trolley containing covered dishes. "Sir, we got a request from this room for breakfast at 4:30AM."

"I did not request breakfast of any sort. I don't know why I can't get an uninterrupted sleep till 7 o'clock!"

"Well, sir, it will go on your bill as a requested item not collected and you'll still be charged for it."

"Oh, all right!" Harm grumbled as he took the trays into the room and shut the door. Opening up the tray he saw a breakfast sausage and egg sandwich as well as hash-browns and a strawberry milkshake. "Damn it! That jarhead!" he snarled as he put the tray on the dresser, dressed in a robe and went over to Mac and Meg's room knocking.

Mac, yawning, answered the door. "What do you want? Harm. Do you know what time it is?"

"All too well, Mac." Harm said disgustedly proffering up a tray of food. "Any chance you know how this came about to be delivered to my room?"

"I have absolutely no idea." Mac shrugged. At 0430 hrs and absolutely exhausted it was easy to feign disinterest.

"Well, I'm a vegetarian. This thing is a sausage n' egger, hash browns and a strawberry milkshake." Harm grumbled. "I don't eat that sort of thing."

"Well…if you don't want it, I'll take it." Mac said, grabbing the tray. " Nite, Harm." And promptly shut the door in his face.

Harm let out a frustrated snarl and stomped back to his room.

_**Virginia Beach Hilton**_

_**Virginia Beach, VA**_

_**0715 hrs**_

Harm yawned as he dressed in his khakis and then headed down with his packed overnight bag. Seeing a female Marine major and a female Navy Lieutenant, both fresh-faced and cheery, he gave them a sour look.

"Have a good sleep, sir?" Meg asked with a blameless look on her face. Oh, very wise, lieutenant, prod the bear.

"Surprisingly, I kept getting interrupted from my rest." Harm said disgustedly. "Thus, this morning I am yawning my head off." He had to give the two of them credit. Not even a single admission of guilt. There wasn't any looks passed between the two of them to even give him the idea that they were responsible for the constant interruptions early this morning.

"I think we'd better get going if we plan to be on base in time for the fly-off." Mac said innocently as she gestured towards the car, "We can grab a bite at a drive through." She tossed back as they squared away their accounts at the hotel at check-out.

"What? The sausage and egger, hash-browns and milkshake didn't fill you up? Major?" Harm grumbled sarcastically.

"Nope. By the way, thanks for offering it to me." Mac said, not a single tone of guilt evident in her voice as they walked out to the car.

Harm, Mac and Meg got into the Grand Marquis and headed for the base.

_**Naval Air Station Oceana**_

_**Virginia Beach, VA**_

_**0800 hrs**_

As Harm and company were getting past the gate guards at Oceana's main gate, Animal and the rest of the fighter squadrons' members were getting geared up for their walk out to the F-14s and F/A-18Cs in the various ready rooms on base. The stands were filling up for the departure audience to fill them.

Securing his torso harness, Animal grinned as he zipped up the g-suit finally. Grabbing his HGU-55/P with the MBU-14/P oxygen mask, he looked forward to the flight out to the carrier. Looking up at the blue sky, he breathed in a deep breath of air. It was a good day for flying.

The various fighter pilots of each squadron heading out to the Theodore Roosevelt assembled. There wasn't going to be speeches, there wasn't going to be music, just a solemn gathering of people honoring their fighting men going out to sea. At a cue, when the stands were all filled with people, the men and women of CVW-8 in full flight gear started assembling to the sides of the stands and then started walking out. Cheers and yells of encouragement cascaded from the stands. Looking up at the stands, Animal could see Meg standing there. Her eyes found him, they locked and Animal nodded signaling her that he saw her. Animal saluted her, she returned the salute and uttered by just moving her lips so that he could lip read. "I love you." Yelling it out loud would pretty much attract too much undue attention.

The members of the carrier air wing that were present at this base – others would fly in from their respective bases to the carrier, their arrivals staggered throughout the day. As they got ready to set sail, the carrier quals would be in full swing and the next week would involve a lot of work for the deck crew as well as the flight crews.

As Animal strode out to his F-14 painted up over the weekend with his name CAPT TOSHIO NAKAMURA on the rails with his callsign and command directly underneath it. ANIMAL CAG, he grinned as he saw her. Ol' Double Nuts. Fast Eagle 100. In red/black and white script with no lurid graphics was the name of the aircraft "Texas Gal" on the nose of the F-14 Tomcat. That was a tribute to his Meg.

Harm despite his night-blindness, could see perfectly well in the daytime. He leaned over to Mac. "Did you see what was on his Tomcat?" he asked.

"No…I couldn't." Mac replied.

"It says _Texas Gal_. Fast Eagle 100. He flies the CAG bird."

Meg turned around to look at him. "He wrote what on his Tomcat?"

Harm turned to Meg. "I think he really loves you, Meg. Aviators when they have a woman who they really care about emblazon it on their aircraft with interesting graphics or script. Animal chose to put the name _Texas Gal_ on his Tomcat." Meg felt a wave of love for Animal go through her as Harm said this. Harm continued. "Some guys do get in hot water with their ladies for putting up naked graphics of hot women on the nose of their aircraft, but the married guys usually put up script names on their Tomcat."

Meg raised her eyes with an incredibly brilliant smile "So, sir, I guess he thinks like a married guy?" she asked. "Or he would have put up a naked blonde girl on the nose of his Tomcat?"

"I guess he does, Meg. And I'm thankful that he has the discretion to not put naked women on his Tomcat." Harm replied.

Meg sighed happily – it was clear to her that she was Animal's gal. It wasn't possessive in nature; it was just a sense of belonging and a feeling that just felt right. The air was starting to fill with the whine of the huffer carts as the aviators strapped into their aircraft and started up the engines. The noise was loud.

Harm remembered almost four years ago when he had been one of the ones walking out to a deployment on the USS Seahawk. He missed this type of camaraderie, but his eyes had betrayed him leading to a situation that he wouldn't have wished on his worst enemy. When the diagnosis of night-blindness had come down, it had been a blow to his psyche. He had retreated to Grandma Sarah's farm to find himself. He looked down at the gold wings on his uniform. He had felt the gaze of some of the servicemen around him today, the unspoken questions as to why he was on shore when the aviators were flying out. But he still felt the hurt and the longing of wishing he was able to be a part of the flying again. He still had something to prove to himself and as long as he was grounded, he would always feel that desire in him to prove that he could still compete with the best. And he was looking at one of the best if not the best in the Navy strapping in on Fast Eagle 100, a close personal friend of his despite the fact that Harm constantly ribbed him about being a ROTC puke. All his other friends were from the Academy. He sighed, as Mac leveled a look of concern at him.

"You want to be out there, don't you?" Mac said.

"Every single day of my life, Mac." He said, swallowing deeply. "Every single day I ask myself why it happened. Every single day I wonder if I still have what it takes and seeing my friend…" He left the comment unfinished…and verbalized a new thought. "My dad and CAG Boone used to fly with this squadron during Viet Nam…in fact this was the squadron my dad was in on Christmas 1968."

Mac questioned whether or not she really understood the depth of what had been taken away from Harm. "So…seeing the Black Aces fly out means a lot to you?" she asked.

"Yeah…in a way it does, it brings it around. Seeing my friend fly-out with the same squadron…and the fact that my dad could have commanded this squadron if he hadn't been shot down. Boone commanded this squadron. My friend having commanded this squadron and now him being the CAG of CVW-8. It brings a lot of memories." Harm said and then looked over at Meg who was discretely wiping her eyes of tears as Fast Eagle 100 pulled out of its chocks and started to taxi, its engines howling. "And knowing that my friend is now intimately involved with my partner at JAG." He grinned ingratiatingly, getting slugged in the arm for that comment by Meg. "OW!" She had a good right straight-arm. That hurt.

The roar of the F-14A Tomcats as they started down the runway, VF-14 Tophatters in the lead, then VF-41 drew their attention to the main runway. Fast Eagle 100 started its rollout, hitting burner part-way through and the F-14 rotated into the sky, blue tongues of flame coming out of the burner cans as the roar of the F-14 reached back to caress the audience members watching the fly-out. Meg felt the noise on the skin of her face as F-14 after F-14 rose into the sky. Meg whispered to herself, her emotions running rampant. "Fly safe, my love, come back to me" as she watched Animal's F-14 become a dot in the distance.

_**Fast Eagle 100**_

_**0945 hrs**_

"Scooter, you see a boat around here somewhere?" Animal asked his RIO who was still with VF-41 Black Aces.

"CAG…we should be bumping up on it pretty soon….Ah…there I see it."

"Marshal. Fast Eagle One Zero Zero… Two Seven Zero for three six, angels one eight, state 11.2" Animal radioed to the carrier marshal as he sighted the carrier and entered the approach.

"Roger, 100, Case I, CV-1 approach, altimeter 28, marshal mom's 150 angels 9, expected approach time 20, approach button 15" Marshal responded.

"Marshal, 100 commencing, fuel state, 10.8" Animal descended to nine-thousand feet, then descending to 5000 feet, he radioed to Marshal. "Marshal, platform 10.5"

Approach radioed in to contact Animal and he replied. "Approach, 100, 18 miles, 7.8"

"Eight miles, ACLS lock-on, call your needles"

"needles centered."

"Roger, 100, Needles Centered, Fly Mode 2."

As Animal approached the deck he radioed again. "Approach, Fast Eagle 100, Three Miles astern, hook down, gear down."

Approach replied on the radio call, "One-Zero-Zero, we have you sighted, three quarters of a mile, call the ball."

"Tomcat, Ball 4.7 Nakamura" Animal clipped out, he was busy concentrating on landing the F-14 Tomcat, as the CAG he would set the benchmark for the cruise.

"You're good to go, CAG. Fly the ball and bring her in" the LSO radioed.

Animal trapped a good green three-wire. "We're down, Scoot!"

"Beauty of a trap, CAG… Flyin' with you's a pleasure. Even better than flying Delta." Scooter said as Animal taxied the F-14 out of the landing area.

"Heaven forbid." Animal retorted. "A green three-wire; not a bad start to a deployment."

Parking the aircraft, shutting down the aircraft and unbuckling from his F-14, he watched the next two members of his squadron land their F-14s. Beautiful three wires, the both of them - which meant the greenie board was going to have some competition this deployment.

_**USS Theodore Roosevelt**_

_**Somewhere in the Mediterranean**_

_**2 months later**_

Luckily for Animal, the missions were relatively all milk runs. Of course, if there were any that were exceedingly difficult to fly, he put himself first on the list to fly them. That was how he developed the reputation of the skipper, now the CAG, that he wouldn't put anyone on a mission that he wouldn't do himself. Animal was a no-nonsense CAG and didn't hesitate to bust anyone for tomfoolery. The carrier was no place for that sort of thing and Animal didn't put up with anything that could potentially put lives in danger. About one month in, Gomer got replaced because a staff position came up and Gomer was able to slot into it. Animal got a replacement DCAG who was efficient and on the ball to assist him in running the air wing - running the air wing was no picnic. The TR was cruising in the Mediterranean, backing up the John C. Stennis carrier battle group which was in the Persian Gulf. Rumblings of dissent were coming from Iran and Iraq, the perennial thorns-in-the-side of the United States were heard and the TR conducted CAP over the disputed area.

It was usually about the 2 month point that the first itchings of homesickness made themselves felt and thus mail call was usually a benefit. With e-mail on board the boat, now C-2 Greyhound trips out to the boat loaded down with mail were few and far between - once three times a week, now dropped to weekly. Mostly loaded with official dispatches and other required reading material, the mail-call was quite the event. But the highlights were the actual letters from home.

Animal's Air Group yeoman knocked on his office door. "CAG? Seems like you got a pile of mail today." He called out.

"Bring 'er in." Animal replied as he concentrated on his next mission report. "Leave it on the desk, Burnsie!" YN1 Greg Burns was a 15 year vet of the Navy, undoubtedly selected for chief when the chief petty officer convening boards were held. The chiefs were the glue of the Navy – they held the enlisteds together. The standing joke was that when you needed something done, you didn't run to an officer, you got a chief to do it – that way it got done efficiently and correctly. And YN1 Burns had the makings of a chief. He was efficient, on the ball and eager to get things done and done efficiently.

"Aye-Aye, sir." He said.

_**JAG Headquarters**_

_**Falls Church, VA**_

"Hey, Meg…" Harm grinned at his erstwhile partner. "So…how is everything going?"

Meg knew exactly what the interrogative was all about. "So, what you're asking, sir, is…am I holding up fine while my boyfriend is out in the Med? Is that it? Sir?"

"Guilty as charged." Harm replied giving her an guiltless expression. Rationalizing it as a friend checking up on a friend, he forged ahead "How are you holding up?"

"Honestly… sir." Meg said giving him an indulgent smile as if to say _You've been asking about it every single day, Harm_; she gave him an answer. "Aside from the loneliness and the fact that mail call is only once a week which he writes faithfully, I figure I'm going to be antsy till he comes home." Harm's eyebrows lifted as she said _till he comes home. _Meg was already thinking about her home being hers and Animal's? "But flying is what he does…so I'm not going to complain."

"What do you two plan to do after Animal gets home?" Harm said.

"Oh…" she said playfully, "Look for a bigger house. After all, an apartment is just a cube in a building filled with other cubes – not much privacy there and we'd like a bit of property along with the house that we get." Meg said considering that was some of the content of her last letter to Animal. Well, those two were jumping in with both feet, weren't they? Harm was surprised. First a relationship between Animal and Meg and now they were searching for a house together.

"Hey, squid!" Harm heard Mac's voice behind him. It still jarred him that she looked like a virtual twin of Dianne in appearances despite the Marine Corps uniform and in nature every time she walked up to him. Despite everything she had gone through in her life, abuse from her father, she turned out into a mischievous ball of cheer who never let anything get in the way of her happiness or let a dark mood darken the rest of the JAG office.

Meg picked her spot to needle him. "So, how's your other partner?" she asked.

"There's nothing going on between us." Harm replied seeing her expression and figuring out exactly what she was inferring.

Mac gave him a sultry smile and whispered "You wish… squid." …as Meg laughed. "Now go count octopi tentacles or something. Meg and I need a woman to woman talk." She winked at Harm as Harm's eyebrows shot up to his hairline. Harm amscrayed before his ears started burning from their conversation.

Mac walked into Meg's office and shut the door. "So…" she said grinning.

"So…what?" Meg stated simply.

"So, was Harm interrogating you on your relationship with Animal?" Mac asked.

"Yeah, for probably about the fiftieth time these past two months." Meg sighed. "It seems like I can't get around his constant queries." She reached for a letter from Animal from last week and waved it to emphasize her point, "Toshio writes faithfully and yes, I miss him, but I have a job to do here and I can't let personal loneliness distract me from the job I'm supposed to be doing." She paused for a long moment while considering her next choice of words. "I'm going to do what I have to do here and I just mark the days off on the calendar until he's home." Meg then got a mysterious grin on her face. "So…how's it like working with the erstwhile and handsome Harmon Rabb Jr?"

"Woman to woman…it doesn't stray from this office." Mac asked grinning back at her. "I think he's a hunk." She grinned. "Outside of this particular confine, he's an exceedingly efficient officer and a loyal friend. And that's all I can say about that…"

Meg raised an eyebrow… "Anything more than that?" she prodded.

Mac said very quietly "…asides from what…asides from the fact that there are some times in the month that I want to jump his bones?" and grinned very evilly. Meg had to choke down her laughter. If there was something about Mac, she talked about this stuff very openly and candidly if the door was shut and there was only the two of them in the room.

"Oh?"

"Well, I'm not blind, you know. Marines have perfectly good vision. He is something else in dress whites…" Mac said playfully. "…and he fills them out so well."

In the meantime, Harm was sitting in his office wondering why his ears were burning.

_**USS Theodore Roosevelt**_

_**Somewhere in the Mediterranean**_

Animal looked over at the ever-steadily decreasing pile of papers on his desk. Saving the written treat from Meg till the very last, he went bit by bit through each one of the files that needed his authorization or his signature, reading every bit of information so that he wouldn't sign his name to something that he would later forget about.

"Hey…" Lieutenant Phil "Metalman" Burrows walked into the CAG's office.

"Ever hear of knocking? Burrows?" Animal looked up at him with a piercing stare.

"What's that? CAG?" Metalman grinned with just the bare amount of respect bordering on insolence. Animal chose to ignore Metalman's insolence and concentrate on what the hell would get Metalman out of his office the quickest so that he could finish the rest of his work and get to reading Meg's letter.

"What did you need? Lieutenant?" Animal growled. "As you can see I'm rather busy here."

"Chief Raines asked me to go find a bucket of elbow grease, sir, and I wasn't sure if the air wing had any in stores." Metalman said ingratiatingly. Animal rolled his eyes and sighed deeply. It was going to be one of those days.

"Try the kitchen, Lieutenant." Animal retorted. "Dismissed."

"…but…but…" Metalman interjected with some amount of confusion.

But Animal pointed towards the door and growled menacingly "Dismissed…LIEUTENANT!" …as Metalman, taking the hint, amscrayed out the door.

About ten minutes later…as Animal signed the last little bit of official paperwork, Metalman made a reappearance, poking his head in the door. "Sir. Chief Raines told me that he needed a pair of relative bearings, sir. Do you know anything about where I can find those?"

"Try the machine shop, Lieutenant!" Animal snapped. "Didn't the chief tell you where to look?"

"No, sir, he told me to use my head, sir…with the greatest respect due as an officer. He was very polite about it." Metalman replied looking rather confused.

That's probably great advice, especially when it comes from a chief. Lieutenant. I highly suggest you take it." Animal said to Metalman, resolving to himself that he had better lock the hatch to his quarters while reading Meg's letter so that he could read it without interruption.

After ushering Metalman out the door so he could read Meg's missive, he secured the hatch closed. Some privacy was liked by all when they read their significant other's letters.

_My love, _

_August finds me enjoying the late summer sun. We're currently in the Cradle of Aviation investigating a case and I find myself with some time to kill as Mac has shouldered the heavy-duty part of this case. This pretty much leaves me looking at aircraft and wishing you were here with me. _

Animal grinned as he read this… His days in Pensacola, though now a distant afterthought, were a fond memory. The T-45 Goshawk now shouldered the bulk of the jet aviation pipeline training whereas when Animal went through it was the T-2 Buckeye which looked like a fat white and fluorescent orange sparrow. It was squat and sat low to the ground as did the T-45 now. Oh, how he missed Meg dearly and her description of the sights that she had encountered on-base (without referring to the case – which would have been illegal) brought him back many memories.

_I went to visit Trader Vic's Bar and Grill. It's a fascinating place. _She had continued in her missive. _There's all sorts of class photos of aviators who went through flight training there, just like at the base, as well as a tribute wall to those who didn't make it and lost their lives doing so. I found Harm's class photo and I also found yours, sweetheart. Vic, the proprietor pointed out your class to me when I told him that you were an aviator who went through Pensacola for his flight training. It's absolutely fascinating just how solid of a memory that man has of everyone who has set foot through his establishment._

Animal raised his eyebrows. Trader Vic's was an institution in Pensacola. Anybody who went through the white arch that read "Through These Gates Lies the Future of Naval Aviation" knew Trader Vic's, a place for camaraderie amongst fighting men and good food and beer which flowed in copious amounts. Vic was a grizzled bear of a man tough but friendly and preferred the company of Navy men over civilians and wouldn't put up with crap from civilians towards Navy personnel. Many a time he'd thrown a civilian out of his establishment for insulting someone in Navy whites or khakis so there wasn't an episode of a bar fight like in similar establishments that catered to a mixed population of both military and civilian. Animal knew that all too well, considering in his younger hell-raising days, he'd been in a few bar fights himself. Considering he had black belts in karate and tae kwon do plus a heavy helping of military self-defense training and war-fighting, he was formidable if someone dropped the gloves and picked him as a target. As an O-5 and now an O-6, he was now stuck mediating fights that happened during liberty from young hothead lieutenants who had more balls than brains.

_Pensacola seems like a lot of fun and I wonder how it was when you went through as a trainee. Mac seems to be enjoying it too. But the person I most want to share it with is thousands of miles away in the Mediterranean Sea conducting flight operations. _ The tone in her missive was one of deep longing. _It's evidently a long way from trainee at Pensacola to an O-6 commanding a carrier air wing. But here is where it all starts. I get to see it finally and in some ways, to understand, somewhat, the man I love._

'Aw, my dear, sweet Meg…' Animal thought to himself 'She wears her heart on her sleeve' as he read that part of the letter. The latter parts of it were personal and full of longing about what she wanted to do when Animal got back from his deployment as Animal grinned quietly. When finished the letter, he folded it as per its original folds and tucked it in with the rest of his personal letters from Meg. They were punctual and lengthy in their wordage and each one of them was a prized possession. Neither of them had missed a weekly letter.

_**USS Theodore Roosevelt**_

_**Somewhere in the Mediterranean**_

_**5 months into the cruise**_

"Gentleman, we've had Bear incursions out the wazoo. Admiral wants us to stop the incursions. We do not want a war, but we want those incursions to stop." Animal growled out at the lectern looking out over the fighter aviators in the group. After getting his skin flayed about the Bears making over flights into their maritime exclusion zone, Animal was not too happy about the situation. "We will make those incursions stop but not at the threat of the safety of our crews. You will however do what it takes to make these Bears divert from their course. The admiral is having fits over the threat of over-flights of the carrier. So make these incursions stop, gentlemen. Within due performance parameters and adherence to rules and regs. Fly smart. There is no safe out there. Dismissed!"

"Sir?" one of the aviators raised their hands. "Do you wish for us to rattle their cage?"

"Do what is possible within the rules and regs. The admiral does not wish to see a Bear go down in flames. Starting a war is not what we're out here to do." Animal replied.

_**USS Theodore Roosevelt**_

_**Somewhere in the Mediterranean**_

_**2 days later**_

_**Flag Plot**_

"Jesus Christ, CAG! What the hell did you tell your boys to do to those Russians?" Admiral Wayburne snapped. "One of our F-14s dumped half his load of avgas on that lookie-loo. The Bear lost 2 of its engines after they flamed out and had to limp home. There was a tersely worded missive from the Russian ambassador about the aggressiveness of our _American cowboys_ to the SECNAV which ignited a shitstorm of the n'th degree."

"Well, sir, it got rid of a Bear…" Animal said tersely.

The admiral snorted. "Yeah…though just about at the cost of Russian-American relations just as it thawed and nearly dropped a Bear in the drink." The admiral growled. "And we'd be eating Russian missiles if that happened. The SECNAV is up on the governor and wants the aviator responsible to pay the price. Figure if we sit on it, it'll go away?"

"Probably not, sir." Animal replied. "I presume they won't be happy with a Lieutenant Nobody in the hotseat?"

"They're sending a couple of JAGs over from Washington to see what the hell went on. SECNAV's orders. He suspects a cover-up." The admiral groused.

_**USS Theodore Roosevelt**_

_**Somewhere in the Mediterranean**_

_**15 days later**_

After the JAG investigation, the aviator responsible got off with a light reprimand and a slap on the wrist of "don't do that again." As far as Animal was concerned, the aviator did the right thing in sending a message to the Russians of _don't get in that close again_. And considering it was two JAGs that Animal didn't know, he didn't wear his shipboard khakis. He wore the dress khakis with all his ribbons on them all eight rows. The ship's captain chuckled as he remembered the investigation and the trial as Animal was called up on the witness stand. It was a calculated attempt to intimidate and it worked. The JAGs' eyes didn't stray from the topmost ribbon on the rack every single time they met up with him. The threat was clear. "Mess with a Recipient and his command, you rear-echelon legal weenie, your career is as good as over."

There was very few legal types that Animal respected and the only ones that he saw as deeming worthy of respect was either Meg (his significant other) or had a set of been there, done that ribbons or rating wings, dolphins or surface warfare insignia or the JAG himself who wore a SEAL Budweiser or a certain Marine who had the Marine rifle and pistol qualification badges and a _I served in action_ campaign ribbon. And those two who came into investigate the Bear incident didn't have designator badges or any of those been-there-done-that ribbons. All he saw was the National Service Medal ribbon and that was a sure sign of a rear-echelon mike-foxtrot. If in 10 years of service as a JAG you didn't have anything other than a National Service Medal and a Navy Meritorious Service Medal, you were a rear-echelon staff dweeb.

Captain Jeff Kernes callsign Skeeter grinned at Animal. "One of these days, you're going to find yourself in something that blue button isn't going to get you out of." The JAGs were long gone and Animal was back in shipboard khakis.

"Yeah…by that time, hell's gonna freeze over." Animal replied sardonically. "Admiral wanted the Bears off our tail. Dixon got the Bear off. And they're all thinkin' twice before pressing our buttons again."

Captain Kernes shook his head. "Well, we know they're not testing our outer defenses again. Wish I was up there to see it." All captains in command of an aircraft carrier were former aviators. And carrier command was a fast track to a one-star. It was either that or a staff tour. A grounded carrier aviator (who didn't really have much of a chance to get up unless the CAG was willing to overlook it) was a grumpy son-of-a-bitch and could be extremely hazardous to an enlisted person's health and well-being. Animal was looking at going staff tour for the quals for his one star. Sitting on a carrier bridge breathing in avgas and watching aircraft fly on and off the boat while being anchored to a chair wasn't something he thought he was capable of doing. The no-flying would drive him insane within a week. If he was going to be chairborne, he'd much rather do it in an office in the five-sided shithouse on the Potomac where he could get the hell out and go home at the end of the day.

_**JAG Headquarters**_

_**Falls Church, VA**_

"Lieutenant Weinberg, IN MY OFFICE NOW!" Rear Admiral AJ Chegwidden's shout nearly made the glass in the display case right next to his office bend inwards with the force of his bellow.

Full Lieutenant Sam Weinberg's legs shook as AJ Chegwidden leveled a practically psychotic glare at the lieutenant and made him wish that he could melt into the floorboards. "In my office, Lieutenant. You and I are going to have a few words!"

AJ watched the Lieutenant step into his office, pace three steps away from his desk and brace in the position of attention. He shut the door with a slam, nearly making Lieutenant Weinberg jump in fear. AJ paced around the hapless lieutenant with a practiced raised eyebrow countenance and a look of _I'm going to eat your brains out of your skull with a spoon._ Needless to say, that didn't reassure Weinberg any at all.

"Jesus Christ, Lieutenant Weinberg!" AJ Chegwidden in full volume was menacingly impressive, the Navy Cross on his ribbon rack and the Budweiser above it doing more to intimidate the lieutenant than his voice ever could. "DO YOU HAPPEN TO HAVE ANY CONCEPT OF BRAIN USAGE!?" he paused then continued in strident form. "DO YOU HAPPEN TO LIKE YOUR CAREER OR WISH FOR IT TO CONTINUE IN…THIS…PRESENT…FORM!?" he roared in full volume. "LIEUTENANT. YOU DO NOT QUESTION A MEDAL OF HONOR RECIPIENT… AND ABOVE ALL YOU DO NOT IMPLY THAT HE IS A BULLY! YOU SIMPERING LITTLE MORON!" AJ Chegwidden subsided a slight bit on the volume of his tirade. "DID CAPTAIN DALE WEST teach you ANYTHING at RLSO SAN DIEGO?!" AJ then subsided even farther to a growl which made Sam even more nervous. "It may have been justified to paint Colonel Nathan R. Jessop as a bully boy who made his weak subordinates suffer, but you ever…" AJ's voice went up in volume to a stentorian roar as he leveled another psychotic glare at Lieutenant Weinberg "DARE IMPLY THAT A MEDAL OF HONOR RECIPIENT IS A BULLY BOY AGAIN AND YOU WILL HAVE A RICH AND REWARDING CAREER DOING CORROSION CONTROL IN THE JUDGE ADVOCATE GENERAL OFFICES' HEAD! DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR!?"

"Aye aye, sir."

RADM Chegwidden growled, his face giving the hapless lieutenant a look of digust. "I have to now field irate calls from the Medal of Honor Society asking why the hell my people just tried to tar and feather a recipient!" and then roared suddenly. "NOW, WEINBERG, GET YOUR FACE OUT OF MY SIGHT!" It was an ashen Sam Weinberg who exited the JAG's inner sanctum watched by Harm, Mac and Meg.

_**JAG Headquarters**_

_**Falls Church, VA**_

_**2 weeks after the investigation**_

Mac popped into the office. "Did you hear about the Bear incident over the TR? One of the F-14s on the carrier popped aviation fuel and sprayed the Tupolev so that two of the four engines blew out."

"Oh, really?" Meg heard and her eyebrows rose. "I take it the Russians raised a stink about it."

"Yep. I heard about it from Lieutenant Commander Kaffee who really didn't want to take Animal on in court. Oh…Animal grilled him with just the visual of the ribbons on his rack. I hear Danny didn't take his eyes off Animal's Medal of Honor and Sam got blasted both barrels as he tried to pin the blame on Animal with the same schtick that he tried to use on Colonel Jessup (painting Animal as a bully-boy) by the JAG convening authority on board the TR."

"I heard part of the admiral's rant through two closed doors and six walls. Oooh…don't let me get a hold of Lieutenant Weinberg." Meg growled ominously… "Or he'll learn first-hand the meaning of toasty warm in military parlance is _uncomfortably hot_."

"Well…" Mac said with a grin. "I think Sam is going to be a perennial Lieutenant after that performance. I heard the admiral _talking_ to Lieutenant Weinberg after the investigation was over and the walls were shaking. I could hear every single word he said to the lieutenant behind closed doors. Sam's going to be lucky if he finishes his career as a lieutenant. AJ when he first heard about it was thinking about deep-sixing Weinberg's career with an Article 89. Disrespect to a Senior Officer."

_**USS Theodore Roosevelt**_

_**Somewhere in the Mediterranean**_

_**Sixth Month of Cruise**_

The cruise was not going to be extended and it would take four weeks to get back to Norfolk. The atmosphere on the TR was elated. They had ceased operations over Kosovo and were looking forward to heading back to Naples enroute back home Stateside. Liberty at Naples was full of rowdiness. And Animal was not looking forward to the disciplinary measures he was going to have to institute if he had a rash of disorderly conduct off the carrier.

Animal chose not to leave the carrier at any point during liberty. He spent his time on board overseeing the repairs and other matters in the air wing. That was part of his responsibility and he took to it like a duck to water. Plus the simple fact that a deployment like this with very few mishaps would earn the squadron the Battle E. Surprisingly there was not a single casualty amongst the aircrew nor the enlisted personnel of Air Wing 8 and that was a rarity for a deployment which usually saw about one or two aircraft lost, three or four if it was a particularly bad one plus a few sailors killed or injured severely. He oversaw the replacement of the two mainly used arresting wires, the second and third wires, to forestall a cable snapping upon an aircraft trap. The second and third wires had seen heavy usage throughout the carrier deployment and it needed to be replaced before something happened. A cable snapping could scythe off the legs of sailors in one blow.

Meg's letters showed a sign of anxiousness as the TR was scheduled to make port about the end of the seventh month. She couldn't wait to see him again and would be at the fly-in to greet Animal back home from deployment. The six months away from Meg had shown Animal just how important she was to him and that he was looking at something that he didn't ordinarily think of doing as a single guy. Considering how deployments usually ran, he realized that he may not have much time to make a decision as to how he was going to broach this to Meg. No jewelry shops on board the USS Theodore Roosevelt yet and maybe it would go better with Meg if they did it together. The fact that he was even thinking of taking that drastic step made him wonder if love was addling his brain cells.

"Hey, skipper…" Animal groaned as he heard Metalman's voice, irreverent as always. "So…I didn't see you out there with us at liberty. So what are you doing holed up in here?"

"Camping." Animal said sarcastically. "Actually I'm going through reports, none of which you are privy to the information contained within." Metalman ignored the sarcasm in Animal's voice.

"Simpson got butted in the ass by a ram. I think he's going to have a mark from that one." Metalman quipped.

"What the hell were you guys doing?" Animal really didn't want to know the answer to that one.

"Just walking down one of the side-streets in Naples. And this sheepherder was guiding his sheep through that street. So Simpson decides he's going to have some fun and ride on the back of a ewe down the street. Seems like one of the rams in the flock decided to take exception to that and took a run at Simpson, practically punted him into the next block." Metalman chuckled. Animal shook his head.

"You tell Simpson that I told him to quit with the foreign relations. One of these days he's going to find his ass somewhere other than where it's supposed to be. Glad he didn't try this in Lisbon with the Running of the Bulls. Stick to home. Try something safer…like cowtipping." Animal said sarcastically.

_**JAG Headquarters**_

_**Falls Church, VA**_

_**Sixth Month of Animal's Cruise**_

Harm walked past Meg's office and peered over his shoulder to see Meg sitting behind her desk reading what appeared to be a letter on her lunch hour. Noticing the dreamy expression on her face, Harm knew instantly that it was a letter from Animal. Shaking his head, he continued on to his own office. Meg had it bad, he thought to himself. Christmas away from the mainland was tough and Meg was not a happy camper during Christmas with her boyfriend away at sea.

Meg in the interim was reading the letter that Animal sent.

_Hey lover, _

_Yeah, Metalman is driving me absolutely insane. He and this guy Simpson on liberty decided that they were going to have fun with sheep. _ At that Meg's eyebrows rose. _I think this carrier air wing is the very incarnation of a nut house_. _Hopefully you won't mind seeing me back, half-nuts or what. Because this deployment has taxed the very meaning of sanity and what's left of mine will probably leave on the next COD. _

The rest of the letter was absolutely personal and adult-rated in content and it brought a thrill from the top of her head to the tip of her toes and made her wish that she was at home before she opened the letter. She was going to need a cold shower and the fact that she was never ever going to look at her shower in the same vein again considering the activities that they had pursued there made her eager for Animal to _come home_. Time to hide the letter in the briefcase she thought as she ate the last of her lasagna and she was going to have to work off that lasagna when she got home with a run on the treadmill or a workout at the apartment gym.

The deployment had four more weeks to go and she was antsy to see Animal again.

_**USS Theodore Roosevelt**_

_**In Transit in the Atlantic Ocean**_

_**Last Week of Deployment**_

Flight ops did not cease while in transit. If not, they seemed to ramp up with the constant changing locations and potential for overflights by Russian aircraft that followed them out over the Atlantic Ocean. It was a few days before fly off but already the atmosphere was charged with the _We're Going Home_ attitude. And Animal was concerned, the antsy-ness of the flight crews, deck crews and other departments on board the carrier could cause them to short-change their safety measures and risk themselves un-necessarily. He hadn't come through a stellar cruise to see a few aircraft dumped off the pointy end of the boat in cold cats. Safety was the name of the game. You went fangs-out during the missions, but safety was the name of the game in prep. There were too many names and faces on the boards in his experience in deployment of people who didn't come home because they cut corners and he drove that point home to the aviators under his command. He didn't want to see that list grow. The number of funerals he attended was beyond count with the fingers and toes available on his hands and feet. There were friends littered across the bottom of both the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans because they were too damned antsy to do a proper walk around check before mounting up their bird and he was damned certain that he'd make sure this wasn't going to happen on his watch.

Two days before fly-off, he got word of the up-state of his air wing's aircraft from his squadron commanders and the fly-off was planned. Because of the situation of the Atlantic fleet's alert status, COMNAVAIRLANT had vetoed Tiger Cruises for the Atlantic Fleet. Unlike the Pacific Fleet whose nearest fleet sailing point to the mainland was Hawaii, the Atlantic Fleet's last port of call was Rota which meant that any ideas for a Atlantic Tiger Cruise would last a month rather than a week. When the final onboard day rolled around, Animal pretty much was packed up and the stuff in his luggage was carted out to the luggage pod on board Fast Eagle 100. The day after the final onboard day, was the actual day of the fly-off. By this time he was sure that Meg was heading out to NAS Oceana for the fly-in.

As the day of the fly-off arrived, he stood in full flight gear by the island and thought to himself. _The next time I'm on this kind of deck, I'm going to be wearing stars_ – which meant no more flying. This last deployment as the CVW-8 Air Wing CAG was the final footnote on his flying career and having someone special to come home to after the last wheels touched the runway at Oceana made it all worthwhile.

_**Naval Air Station Oceana**_

_**The Fly-In**_

_**1130 hrs. **_

Harm, Mac and Meg had assembled in the same spot that they had been in 7 months earlier. The cold January air was giving way to February's temperatures which still were chilly with the Arctic front that had seeped in from the north. The breeze off the sea was cutting through their dress blues overcoats. The ETA for the carrier air wing fighters at NAS Oceana was 1300 hrs and assembling one and a half hours before hand was a recipe for exposure. Harm was certain he couldn't feel anything in his fingertips while Mac was complaining of a sore nose because of the cold temperatures. Meg on the other hand was silent and stoic, a taciturn figure waiting patiently for her man to come home. The navy rules had relaxed enough to allow the wearing of a scarf (albeit navy issue) to wrap around one's neck under the overcoat but it didn't do much for the wind cutting through the Navy issue overcoat.

It was about 1255 hrs that one heard the first sounds of jet engines in the distance since at precisely 1300 hrs, the first F-14A Tomcat of VF-41, CAG's Fast Eagle 100, did a break right over the stands the loud roar of the Pratt & Whitney TF-30s nearly deafening the audience. All they could see after that maneuver was the red insides of the burner cans. The cheering commenced as the family members and friends all realized that their loved ones were coming home after seven months at sea.

The COMNAVAIRLANT was there as well as he announced over the intercom system. "Welcome home to our VF-41 Black Aces and the CAG of CVW-8, Captain Toshio Nakamura, United States Navy, formerly the CO of VF-41. A thrilling conclusion to a stellar deployment of CVW-8, the carrier air wing had absolutely no casualties at all, a testament to his stellar command authority." By this time, Animal had cranked his F-14 around to line up with the runway and brought her in. Animal's F-14 Tomcat _Texas Gal _had made her last flight with Animal at the controls; from here it was workups towards the next cruise; a handoff to an incoming CAG and then enroute to a stint as a staff tour. As Animal taxied in, the rest of the squadrons were arriving overhead. Animal waited for the rest of VF-41 to taxi in and park before a silent signal caused all canopies of the squadron F-14s to lift at the same time. Precision to prove a point that this was a squadron to be reckoned with – the storied VF-41 Black Aces, not some wanna be squadron like the Black Jacks as Animal called them and kidded CAG Boone all the time. CAG was serving as the air wing commander for the air wing that housed the Black Jacks a rare third tour as CAG. From there it was going to be either stars or retirement for Tom Boone. Either way, both their flying careers were done and that was an immutable fact. The only thing he would be flying would be either a jet for an airline if he got out before his thirty was up or a Cessna 172 and that was a comedown from handling a $50 million dollar jet aircraft that could punch through Mach 2.

As Animal deplaned from his F-14 he gave _Texas Gal_ a final pat. Feeling a sense of emotion, he reached up after dropping a kiss on his hand and patting the nose of the aircraft with that hand "Good luck, gal." He whispered. "Thanks for bringing me home safe. Hope your next aviator treats you well." All too soon, that aircraft would be repainted over and a new nose-art would go on as the next aviator sought to mark that aircraft as his.

Commander Joe "Scooter" Willis grinned at him as he watched his CAG's display of personal affection for his mount. "All good times come to an end, don't they? CAG." He was now the XO of VF-41 and rode in the backseat of Fast Eagle 100 as he had ridden backseat for Animal in many of the F-14s they had ridden in for so many years out of their career. He was one of the very few in the air wing who knew that for their CAG, this was his last sea tour and his very last deployment.

"Yeah, they do…" Animal said with a voice thick with emotion as he grabbed his flight helmet and bag and the longtime crew walked towards the stands – the handlers would detach his luggage pod from the aircraft and move the contents to his quarters. "But what makes it worthwhile is that there's someone to come home to."

"Aye, that… Skipper." Scooter said as he walked beside his longtime friend. Animal could see Meg in the stands waiting with an expression on her face that read _Welcome Home_. As he approached, he could see her come down the steps as quickly as was safely possible considering the temperatures and the frozen conditions…and when she was level with Animal, Navy decorum and rules on PDA be damned, she flung her arms around him and kissed him passionately for the entire world to see. Those who watched, both senior and junior officers cheered. Far be it from them to complain about decorum between ranks at a time like this. Anybody who had eyes knew that the CAG and the pretty young JAG lieutenant were in a relationship and none would resent the CAG and Lieutenant for their personal display of affection. Men who returned from battle for ages were welcomed like this.

Her voice was hoarse with unshed tears glimmering in her eyes. "I missed you so much…" Meg murmured.

"I missed you too. Sweetheart." Animal grinned.

"You came home safe to me." Meg said giving him another hug as they walked away from the aircraft and stands.

"I would never lie to you. Meg. I intended to make sure that I came home to you." Animal replied as he turned her around to face him. "I love you, Meg."

She looked at him. "I love you too, Toshio." She replied. "Right now I just want to go home with you."

"Well, if you can wait just long enough for me to change into the uniform of the day. Will it be almost time for secure at Falls Church by the time you get back there?"

"Yes, AJ gave me the rest of the day off as he did for Harm and Mac." Animal just barely noticed his friend and his jarhead partner step up behind them.

"Hi, Harm, Major."

"Nine months and you still call me by my rank." Mac grinned. "Welcome home, sir."

"Thanks, Major, but I still don't know you well enough to call you by your nickname or your first name." Animal said. "Maybe Meg and I can remedy that since I'm now going to a staff tour once the workups are completed for the next cruise."

"Sounds good to me, sir." Mac replied "…and its Mac…to friends. Hopefully, sir, that you'll have the chance to use it when you feel comfortable enough to do so." Animal nodded.

"Welcome home, Animal." Harm grinned at his friend. "That was a hell of an awesome break into final that you performed."

"Gotta teach you how to fly an F-14. Harm" Animal retorted. He gave them a superior grin.

"I thought you did, sir." Harm riposted.

"Spud locker visits weren't on my curriculum, Harm." Animal shot back. OUCH…burn.

_**Meg's Home**_

_**Arlington, VA**_

_**1830 hrs**_

Meg leaned into Animal's embrace as they shut the door. "Oh…god. I missed you so much." Meg breathed softly as she wrapped her arms around him.

"I missed you too." Animal replied, breathing in the scent of the shampoo she had used on her hair that morning. Meg pulled him into the bedroom as they sought physical and emotional comfort after their long separation.

Shuddering as she reached her peak much later, she whispered in his ear. "Welcome home…sweetheart." Animal wasn't able to speak. "I love you so much." She said.

When his voice returned to him, he whispered back. "I love you too, Meg."

_**Meg's Home**_

_**Arlington, VA**_

_**2230 hrs**_

Animal looked over at Meg as he munched on his piece of pizza. Meg was in a t-shirt…a long one that just barely covered her legs which were bare. Animal was just in his skivvies and they had taken advantage of the fact that there wasn't going to be any interruption at all to grab a bite to eat. They had ordered out and had dressed just long enough to answer the door and pay for the pizza.

They had talked about the contents of their letters and the non-carnal things that they had written to each other. Talking about their future and how they were going to afford a new place rather than the apartment that Meg had. They wanted a place of their own – one that they had shopped for together.

Animal had saved up throughout the cruise…and finally he had set upon what he intended to do with some of the money saved up. That was if he was certain about how Meg felt about him.

_**The Next Morning**_

Animal grinned at Meg. "I think we should take a side trip for a bit." He mentioned as they walked together hand in hand through Arlington, VA. Having eaten breakfast at a little nook eatery, they were enjoying their time together. Meg took a week of leave to be with him. Animal guided her over to a park bench. Meg looked at him with a hint of surprise on her face. "Meg…" He said after a long moment. "One of the reasons why I wanted to take a side trip was because of what I'm going to do right now." He paused as he looked deeply into Meg's eyes, and then knelt on one knee as Meg's heart started to race. "I had a lot of time to think while I was on that cruise. I'm not going to sea any more. This CAG tour was my final tour; my swan-song as an aviator and my flying career is done. My career goal from now on is to get my first star or two and if the JCS is willing attain higher rank if possible. One of the things that I thought about on the cruise was what I wanted for my personal life. I'm yours if you'll have me." He paused and looked up at her from his position kneeling on the snow-covered ground. "Will you marry me? Megan Austin?"

Tears pooled in Meg's eyes as she nodded and softly whispered. "Yes…Toshio, my love…I will…" And she pulled Animal up from his knelt position. They wrapped their arms around each other, each affirming the love with their passionate kiss.

As they separated for air, Animal said. "Something tells me a trip to the jewelry store is appropriate. I believe I need to acquire something to place on your finger."

Meg laughed through joyful tears. This was a scenario of proposal she couldn't have thought of – the man forgetting to have a ring beforehand. This was quickly remedied by a short walk to a jewelry store, where Meg found a diamond engagement ring that was the stuff of every bride-to-be's dream. And Animal paid up and then placed it gently on Meg's finger as the salesperson looked on. Of course, he didn't let it on that he had planned the proposal that way so that they could search for the engagement ring together – the perfect ring. It would be something to tell their children and grandchildren that "Dad forgot the engagement ring".

As they left the store, Meg leaned over and kissed Animal, the large diamond glittered like the snow, on the ground, on her left hand fourth finger as the winter sunlight cast its rays on it.

_**JAG Headquarters**_

_**Falls Church, VA**_

_**Monday, A week later**_

Lieutenant Austin hurriedly entered the conference room for the early morning meeting with her files. The rest of the officers looked up. "Sorry, I'm late, sir." Meg apologized to the admiral as she sat down beside her friend, Major Sarah Mackenzie who looked up with a look of welcome then a gigantic knowing smile lit Mac's face.

"I want to talk to you later, Lieutenant" was all she said, her eyes looking towards Meg's left hand.

Lieutenant Commander Harmon Rabb Jr. was on the other side of the table. Meg put both hands on the table and looked over with studious attention to what the admiral was saying. The light coming in from the window caught the diamond ring on her left hand ring finger which shot a scintillating light against the walls that caught the attention of her long-time partner. It was like he couldn't take his eyes off it; he kept peering at it throughout the meeting. He raised his eyebrows in question along with a small smile, as Meg turned around and flashed him an enigmatic eyebrow raise in return.

When the meeting was over, Meg walked to her office, the rock on her left hand catching the notice of many of her office mates. She checked her watch. Yep, it wasn't much longer than five minutes after the meeting before Harm would be at her…

"Hey…pardner. So where'd you get that rock?" Harm asked as he poked his head in the door. Mac followed shortly thereafter.

"Oh, my god…that's beautiful." Mac said as Meg raised her left hand so that Mac could get a better look at it. "2 carat?" she asked. This was a $14,000 ring.

Meg nodded silently.

"Is it who I think it is that bought the ring?" Mac asked. Meg nodded again. Evidently Harm was struck dumb or something.

"Well…" Harm said. "That's a surprise. That rock must've cost a lot." Evidently he regained his voice, Meg thought.

"Yes. I was there when it was purchased." Meg replied without attempting to gloat. "It's being insured."

"Have you got a save-the-date yet?" Mac asked, thinking the whole thing was so romantic.

"We haven't thought that far yet, but we'll be working on it." Meg answered back with a engaging smile. "And you will be notified."

Harm muttered something… it sounded like "Isn't this a bit quick?"

"Well…" smirked Meg as she measured his reaction. "Absence does make the heart grow fonder." She was sure Harm's jaw made a resounding crack as it hit the floor.

******THE END*****


End file.
